Shaking statues

 Tearing down history takes us down dangerous paths. The statue of Thaddeus Kosciuszko, a Polish born military engineer who help us during the American Revolution, was vandalized a few years ago. WTF. More to come.

In 2001 the Taliban, claiming they were following Islamic law, tore down a statue of Buddha in Bamiyan, Afghanistan.

In 2018 a red angel-shaped statue named Phylax by Greek artist Kostis Georgiou was torn down in  southern Athens, Greece. Black-clad protesters viewed it as Satan like.

Portland: Elk statue was damaged during Occupy Portland protests in 2011. The elk and fountain were donated to Portland by a former mayor David P. Thompson, in 1900 to honor elk that once roamed the Willamette Valley.

The statue was again a target in 2020 and the Regional Arts Council decided the piece needed to be removed for public safety reasons.

In 2018, a bronze statue depicting two children honoring the national anthem in Patterson Park in Baltimore, was defaced with red paint. The words “Racistt Anthem” were painted in front of it.

It was paid for by pennies from public school students more than a century ago. 

The plaque on the statue read:

 “To commemorate the centennial of the writing of the Star-Spangled Banner, the pupils of the public schools of Baltimore have erected this memorial upon Hampstead Hill where in September,1814, the citizen soldiers of Maryland stood ready to sacrifice their lives in defense of their homes and their country.”

Feb 1, 2024

A reminder from Orwell in the book 1984: "History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Party is always right.” 

Jonathan Cook" Tearing down statues isn’t vandalism. It’s at the heart of the democratic tradition." I guess he lost his dictionary!

earlier blog statues tumble